Cash registers having movable front covers

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides new cash registers which are suitable for use in catering companies and retail businesses. The cash registers can be easily adapted to the ergonomic requirements of a standing or seated operator. Various devices can optionally be installed in a wall located underneath a keypad surface and are covered by a front region of the keypad surface. The keypad surface can pivot to allow access to the various devices.

The invention relates to a cash register for use in catering companiesand retail businesses.

Depending on the particular use, different requirements are made of cashregisters in terms of the way in which they can be operated. Forexample, cash registers in catering companies, so-called bar cashregisters, are operated by a standing person, as it were in passing,while the cashier in a retail business is seated in front of the cashregister during the entire working time. This results in differentergonomic design principles which are to a certain extent contradictoryand which have hitherto been fulfilled only imperfectly with a singledesign of cash register.

The desire for application-specific equipment relates to differentstorage and identification media such as disk drives for diskettes orCD-ROM, connection possibilities for electronic, electro-optical orelectromechanical mass storage devices, for example, according to thePCMCIA Standard or even readers for magnetic strip cards or smartcardswith which a cashier is identified at the cash register. The casing ofthe cash register would have to be changed for each equipment variant.However, different designs make a cash register more expensive.

It is already known to make cash register systems of modular design. Theindividual components, and thus a selection of different keypads, areaccommodated in discrete casings. When such a cash register system isinstalled, the individual components are to be electrically connected toone another, which generally requires the use of a technician. However,this runs counter to efforts to hand over directly to a user of the cashregister a system which is ready for operation when installed.

WO-A-97/00514 discloses a cash register with a control region,comprising a console shaped keypad surface, and a display region, thekeypad surface of which cash register is mounted on the lower part ofthe cash register so as to be pivotable about a pivot axis runningparallel with its rear edge, and in its folded down position can belocked to the said lower part. The front region of the keypad surface isbent downward.

In its folded down position, the keypad surface covers a money containerwith a plurality of compartments arranged next to and behind oneanother, the height of their front walls decreasing incrementally in thedirection of the front wall in the cash register. The front wall of thecash register drops away abruptly in a rearward and downward directionin relation to the side walls. When the keypad surface is folded down,this abruptly set back region is closed off by the front, downwardlybent region of the said keypad surface, the lower edge of which regionthen rests on the upper edge of the front wall.

DE-A 37 41 704 discloses a card reader installed in the front wall of acash register.

IBM TECHNICAL DISCLOSURE BULLETIN, Vol. 28, No. 6, Nov. 1985, pages2361-2363, discloses how a pivotable keypad can be releasably held on acomputer casing with a bolt which is acted on by spring force.

EP-A-0 085 482 describes various possible ways of alternately orsimultaneously making accessible, or inaccessible, to a user two keypadswhich are accommodated in separate casings. According to a firstproposed solution, both keypads are located one on top of the other, sothat only the upper one can be used. The latter can be pushed rearward,as a result of which the lower keypad also becomes accessible. Accordingto a second proposal, a lower keypad can be pulled forward from under anupper one, so that both keypads can be used at the same time. Accordingto a third proposal, an upper keypad can be pivoted, with its rear upperedge, on the front upper edge of a lower keypad. In order to make thefirst keypad accessible, it is pivoted forward in front of the lowerkeypad.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,504 describes a screen support device on which adisplay device is mounted so as to be capable of being inclined androtated about a vertical axis.

The object of the invention is to propose a compact cash register whichcan be adapted to different conditions of use by means of simplemeasures.

The object is achieved by means of the features of claim 1.

The optional equipment possibility with different keypads or else with acombined display/input device not only permits an application-specificdesign of a cash register but also makes it possible to be retrofittedeasily at a later date if a change to the application or new inputdevices make this necessary. For example, the use of a flat screen witha so-called touch screen or a pen computer surface or with soft keysopens up new application possibilities in the field of self-service.

Similar possibilities are obtained for storage means which only have tobe operated intermittently, for example diskette disk drives for loadingprograms, CD-ROM disk drives for operating an optical PLU memory,smartcard readers for logging onto the cash register, mass storagedevices according to the PCMCIA Standard for electronic journals etc. Toinstall such devices, it is necessary to provide in each case an openingin the casing of the cash register, non-occupied openings having to besealed off for security reasons. Covering over these openings with thedownwardly bent region of the keypad surface fulfils this requirement.At the same time, nonauthorized persons are denied access to theaforesaid devices.

The invention is described below with reference to exemplary embodimentsillustrated in the drawing, in which

FIG. 1 shows a first exemplary embodiment of a cash register accordingto the invention in a perspective front view,

FIG. 2 shows the cash register from FIG. 1 in a side view,

FIG. 3 shows a second exemplary embodiment of a cash register accordingto the invention in a perspective front view,

FIG. 4 shows the cash register from FIG. 3 without a keypad in asectional, perspective partial view,

FIG. 5 shows the cash register shown in FIG. 3, with the keypad in twopositions in a schematic side view,

FIG. 6 shows a first exemplary embodiment of a supporting device for akeypad surface in a front view, (a) in a folded down position and (b) ina pivoted up position,

FIG. 7 shows a second exemplary embodiment of a supporting device for akeypad surface in a sectional side view, (a) in a folded down positionand (b) in a pivoted up position,

FIG. 8 shows a locking device for a keypad surface in a schematic sideview.

FIG. 1 illustrates a first exemplary embodiment of a cash register 10 ina perspective front view. The latter comprises a flat lower part 12 witha raised upper portion 14 in the rear left-hand region. The front wall16 of the upper portion 14 is inclined rearwards at an angle ofapproximately 18° with respect to the surface normal of the installationsurface. An operator display device 18 which can be pivoted about ahorizontal axis 20 is installed in it.

In the upper portion 14 there is a printer (not illustrated) at leastfor receipts 22, which are transported out of the upper portion 14through a receipt outlet 24 on the upper side 26. There is space for areceipt roll in the rear part of the upper portion. In order to keep theblind viewing angle of the operator with regard to the part of theinstallation surface behind the cash register 10 as small as possible,the rear region of the upper portion is provided with a rounded portion30, matching the contour of the receipt roll (FIG. 2). The upper portion14 projects rearward beyond the lower part 12. The space below theoverhang is taken up by a cable cover 42 which can be removed from thelower part 12 for installation and maintenance purposes.

The part 28 of the rear cover surface of the lower part 12 which islocated next to the upper portion 14 extends essentially horizontally.Attached to it is a customer display device 32, with adjustable angle ofinclination and height, on a pivotable extension arm 34. Furthermore, onthe cover surface 28 on the right at the front in the figure there is anelevation 36 with a central lock 38 for the cash register 10.

The front region 40 of the lower part 12 drops away gently toward thefront at an angle of approximately 8° with respect to the installationsurface. The front region 40 is covered by a keypad surface 41 which canbe equipped with keypads appropriate to the particular application: Inthe left-hand part, a so-called barman's keypad 44 is symbolicallyillustrated. This has a large number of keys, 132 in the exemplaryembodiment. It essentially utilizes the entire available surface of thefront region 40. In the right-hand part, a so-called checkout keypad 46,as is customary on cash registers in retail businesses, is symbolicallyillustrated. It has a smaller number of keys which are arranged in asmall number of rows, so that a handrest 48 can be arranged in the frontregion in front of the keypad without extending the lower part 12forward.

On the right next to the keypad 44 or 46, a magnetic card reader 50 isinstalled in the front region 40, and a smartcard reader 54, an operatoridentification reader 56, a diskette drive 58 and an operator lock 60are installed in the vertical front wall 52 of the lower part 12. Thesaid operator lock 60 is always accessible through an opening 61 in thekeypad surface 41. The selection of the peripherals to be installed inthe front wall 52 is at the discretion of the user, so that it is alsopossible to provide card receptacles according to the PCMCIA Standard.

Arranged under the keypad 44, 46 is a keypad controller which is used tocontrol the keypad itself as well as the magnetic card reader 50 and theoperator lock 60. Installed in the rear region of the lower part 12under the upper portion 14 and the horizontal cover surface 28 are amains component and the electronic cards, known for example from a PC,which are necessary to control a cash register. The connection plugs ofthe electronic cards project rearwards out of the lower part 12 and areaccessible after the cable cover 42 has been removed.

If the cash register is to be used as a barman's cash register, ahandrest is not required. A handrest can thus be dispensed with withouta disadvantage for the user. The space is consequently available foradditional keys. The operator display is moved into the rearwardlyinclined position, which is illustrated in FIG. 2 by unbroken lines anddesignated by 18, so that it can be easily read by a standing person.

If the cash register is used as a checkout cash register, fewer keys arenecessary, and the cashier has a handrest available. The operatordisplay is in this case expediently moved into the position 18'illustrated in FIG. 2 by dot-dash lines, and can be conveniently read bya seated person.

FIG. 3 illustrates a second exemplary embodiment of a cash register 100in a perspective front view. The said cash register 100 comprises a flatlower part 102 with a raised upper portion 104. The front wall 106 ofthe upper portion 104 is only schematically illustrated. It may beinclined in accordance with the front wall 16 of the cash register 10and equipped with an operator display device. A cable cover 108 isprovided in the rear region.

The front region 110 of the lower part 102 of the cash register casingdrops away obliquely toward the front. The said front region 110surrounds a casing 112 (FIG. 4) made of metal in whose front wall 114,which drops away perpendicularly, a smartcard reader 116 and a diskettedrive 118 are installed. The upper side of the casing 112 forms a coverpanel 120 over which a keypad surface 122, which is likewise producedfrom sheet metal, is pivotably arranged. Attached to the said keypadsurface 122 is a keypad casing 124 in which a keypad 126, aswipe-through magnetic card reader 128 and an operator lock 130 areaccommodated.

A front region 132, projecting beyond the casing 112, of the keypadsurface 122 is bent downward, so that it comes to rest in front of thefront wall 144 of the casing 112 and completely covers it. The rearregion of the keypad surface 122 is bent downward to form a throat 134which runs over its entire width and has a circular segment-shaped crosssection. The centre line of the throat 132 coincides with a pivot axis136 about which the keypad surface 122 can be pivoted. The throat 134extends in a gap 138 between the cover panel 120 and a rib 140 which isformed onto the upper portion 104 and whose contact surface with thekeypad surface 122 is matched to the circular segment shape of thethroat 134. The cover panel 120 may be planar in the contact region ofthe throat 134. However, an even better guidance of the pivotingmovement of the keypad surface 122 about the pivot axis 136 is obtainedif the cover panel 120 is in a wave 142 shape in this region (FIGS. 4and 5). The throat 134 is in the trough of a wave in this case.

Between the keypad surface 122 and the cover panel 120 there is, inevery pivot position, electrical contact over a large surface so thatthe connection of the keypad surface 122 to the earth potential of thecasing 122 is always ensured.

FIG. 5 shows the keypad surface 122 together with the keypad casing 124,attached thereto, in a folded down position (illustrated with unbrokenlines), and a pivoted up position (illustrated with broken lines). Inthe first-mentioned position, the front region 132 of the keypad surface122 covers the front wall 114 and thus prevents access to the smartcardreader 116 installed therein, and to the diskette drive 118. Inaddition, FIG. 5 shows that the pivot axis 136 of the keypad surface 122is positioned so far ahead of the front wall 106 of the upper portion104 that the rear edge 125 of the keypad casing 124 does not collide, inany position, with the front wall 106 or with elements installedtherein.

The front region 132 of the keypad surface 122, which is folded down, islocated between projections 144 which are formed onto the front of thelower part 102 (FIG. 3). A cover panel 146 (FIG. 5), which is fittedonto the front region 132, is flush at the front with the projections144 so that a cash register casing without disruptive projections isobtained. A lock 148 which also penetrates the front region 132 of thekeypad surface 122 is installed in the cover panel 146, with which lock148 the keypad surface 122 can be locked together with the front wall114. Unauthorized access to the smartcard reader 116 or to the diskettedrive 118 can thus be reliably prevented.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show two different exemplary embodiments of a supportingdevice for the keyboard surface 122. On the one hand, these hold thekeyboard surface 122 in its pivoted up position, so that equipment--inthe exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 3 this is the smartcardreader 116 and the diskette drive 118--which is installed in the frontwall 114 of the casing 112 can be conveniently operated. On the otherhand, when the keyboard surface 122 is folded down, it is prevented fromstriking hard against the casing 112, which could lead to a magneticdisk drive which is likewise installed in the casing 112 beingdestroyed.

FIG. 6 shows a first exemplary embodiment of a supporting device for thekeypad surface 122 (a) in the folded down position and (b) in thepivoted up position. Formed onto the side edges of the front, bentregion 132 of the keypad surface 122 is in each case a support 150 whichprotrudes obliquely to the side at an angle of approximately 10° in eachcase. When the keypad surface 122 is folded up, its lower end 152 restson the adjacent projection 144. In order to fold down the keypad surface122, the operator has to grasp with both hands (illustrated in FIG. 6bfor one side) the keypad casing 124 which is attached thereto, and hasto press the supports 150 towards one another with a free finger untilthe said supports 150 are aligned parallel with the adjacent projection144. Then, the keypad surface 122 can be moved downward. During pivotingdown, the supports 150 slide along the projections 140 with an increasedfrictional resistance, which comes about under the action of an elasticrestoring force of the laterally bent support. As a result, a low-shocktransition of the keypad surface 122 from the pivoted up position intothe folded down position (FIG. 6a) is ensured.

FIG. 7 shows a second exemplary embodiment of a support device for akeypad surface 122' (a) in a folded down position and (b) in a pivotedup position. Formed onto the side, facing the casing 112, of the keypadsurface 122' is, on the right and on the left, a clip 156 in thevicinity of the bending edge 154 about which the front region 132' ofthe keypad surface 122' is bent downward. A two-armed supporting lever160, on which the force of a leg spring 158 acts in the direction of thecasing 112 and which can be pivoted about an axis 162 which is alignedparallel with the pivot axis 136 of the keypad surface 122', is mountedon each of these said clips 156. A first limb 164 of the supportinglever 160 rests on the cover panel 120 of the casing 112, and the secondlimb 166 is bent downward. The limbs 164, 166 enclose an angle ofapproximately 60°.

In its folded down position (FIG. 7a), the keyboard surface 122' is heldby a locking element 168 (FIG. 8), which is described below. When thislocking element is released, the support lever 160 rights itself underthe driving force of the leg spring 158 and, in doing so, moves thekeypad surface 122' into its pivoted up position (FIG. 7b) without thesaid keypad surface 122' having to be raised manually. In this position,the second limb 166 rests on the front region 132' of the keypad surface122' and thus delimits the pivoting range of the support lever 160. Tofold it down, the keypad surface 122' is pressed downward manually. Inthis process, the lower end of the first support lever limb 164 slidesalong on the cover panel 120 while the leg spring 158 is simultaneouslystressed. This arrangement also ensures, like the exemplary embodimentof the support device according to FIG. 6, that there is a low-shocktransition of the keypad surface 122' from the pivoted up position intothe folded down position (FIG. 7a). Moreover, it has the advantage thatit can be operated with one hand.

FIG. 8 shows the locking element 168 for the keypad surface 122' in asectional side view. On the side of the keypad surface 122' facing thecasing 112, the said locking element 168 contains a longitudinallydisplaceable slide 170 which is aligned parallel with the said keypadsurface 122'. The slide 170 penetrates the front region 132' of thekeypad surface 122' where it is provided with a handle 174. On theinside of the front region 132', a downwardly pointing tongue 176, onwhose lower end a hook-shaped catch projection 178 is constructed, isformed onto the slide 170. The said catch projection engages, in itslocking position, in a catch recess 180 in the front wall 114 of thecasing 112. An adjustment force, in the direction of the casing 112, ofa tensioning spring 172 acts on the slide 170. In order to unlock it,the slide 170 is moved in the direction of the arrow A. The catchprojection 178 disengages from the catch recess 180 and the keypadsurface can swing upward.

We claim:
 1. A cash register for use in catering companies and retailbusinesses, the cash register comprising:a control region with a consoleshaped keypad surface and a display region, the keypad surface beingmounted on a lower part of the cash register and pivotable about a pivotaxis along a rear edge, and a front region of the keypad surface beingbent downward, the keypad surface being pivotable between a raisedposition and a lowered position; a keypad casing equipped with a keypadattached to the keypad surface; a vertical front wall of a casinglocated underneath the keypad surface adapted to install at least one ofa smartcard reader, a diskette drive, a disk drive for optical storagemedia, an operator lock and a--PCMCIA Standard card receptacle; and asupport device carried on the cash register which holds the keypadsurface in the raised position which clears the vertical front wall and,in the lowered position covers the vertical front wall and prevents thekeyboard surface from striking hard against the casing.
 2. The cashregister as claimed in claim 1, in which, when the keypad surface (122)is folded down, the front, downwardly bent region (132) lies betweenprojections (144) which laterally delimit the front wall (114).
 3. Thecash register as claimed in claim 2, in which arranged on one side edgeof the front, bent region (132) of the keypad surface (122) is a support(150) which runs parallel with the adjacent projection (144) when thekeypad surface (122) is folded down, which support (150) bends awaylaterally from the bent region (132) under the action of an elasticspring force when the keypad surface (122) is folded up, after which thelower end of the said support (150) rests on the adjacent projection(144).
 4. Cash register as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which coupled tothe underside of the keypad surface (122) is at least one support lever(160) on which the force of a spring (158) acts in the direction of thecasing (112) and which can be pivoted about an axis (162) which isaligned parallel with the pivot axis (136) of the keypad surface (122),and one (164) of whose limbs rests on the cover panel (120) of thecasing (112).
 5. The cash register as claimed in one of claims 1 to 4,in which, in its folded down position, the keypad surface (122) can belatched to the casing (112) or else locked up.
 6. The cash register asclaimed in one of claims 1 to 5, having an upper portion (14, 104) whichis located behind the keypad surface (41, 122) and in which a receiptprinter and/or an operator display device (18) which can be pivotedabout a horizontal axis is arranged, in which operator display device(18) the pivot axis (136) of the keypad surface (122) is arranged atsuch a distance from the upper portion (104) that, when the keypadsurface (122) is folded up, the rear edge (125) of a keypad casing (124)which projects beyond the keypad surface (122) does not collide with theupper portion (104) or with the pivoted out operator display device(18).
 7. The cash register as claimed in claim 6, in which the keypadsurface (122) is produced from sheet metal and is bent about the pivotaxis (136) to form a circular segment-shaped throat (134), the latterbeing pivotably guided in a gap (134) which is formed between the coverpanel (120) of the casing (112) and a rib (140) which is formed onto theupper portion (104).
 8. The cash register as claimed in claim 6 or 7, inwhich the upper portion (14) extends over only part of the width of thecasing.
 9. The cash register as claimed in claim 8, in which a customerdisplay device (32) whose angle of inclination and height can beadjusted and which can be rotated about a vertical axis is arranged nextto the upper portion (14).
 10. The cash register as claimed in one ofclaims 1 to 10, in which a handrest surface (48) is constructed in frontof the checkout keypad (46).
 11. A cash register comprising:a housingcontaining an electronic control system, the housing having an outer,forward wall; a peripheral unit in the housing and having an interfaceaccessible through an opening in the outer, forward wall of the housing;and a keypad system pivotally mounted on the housing and having adownwardly extending forward flange, the keypad system having a downwardpivoted position in which the flange covers the interface of theperipheral and an upward pivoted position in which the flange is in anuncovered position with respect to the interface of the peripheral. 12.The cash register as claimed in claim 11, wherein the keypad systemfurther comprises a first keypad mounted on a keypad support, the flangeextending downward from the keypad support.
 13. The cash register asclaimed in claim 12, further comprising a keypad support connected tothe keypad system and having a position which supports the keypad systemin the upward pivoted position.
 14. The cash register as claimed inclaim 13, wherein the keypad system further comprises a second keypadmounted on the keypad support.